A new bass tablature, well better said, a bass riff. Because this song is based on a beautiful bass riff.
It has a lot of melodic and harmonic richness, the bass riff is …..
Red hot chili Peppers Californication bass tab
You will know, if you are a bass player, that the bass player of Red hot Chilli Peppers, is a musician of obliged study.
For that reason, we have a section dedicated just for him, consult it here:
Bassist Flea
How to play Californication in Bass
To play Californication with the electric bass you will need to have some technique. So, you should know, that this bass tablature is at an intermediate or advanced level.
It mixes several electric bass techniques:
- Hammer On
- Pull off
- Sweeping of strings
Actually, it is not difficult because of its speed, rather, because of the mixture of all these techniques.
It consists of a slur (Hammer On) and a (Pull Off), which is what we call, pulling the string, to get a descending note.
This mixture of techniques is very characteristic of the bassist Red Hot Chilli Peppers, so we can find it in other lines of Flea bass.
Try to follow the video and pay special attention to the right hand, follow the bars of the tablature and try to replicate the semiquaver triplet with quaver.
This is what will be more difficult to execute, the rest is a piece of cake!
Californication Bass Tablature
Well, to have this detailed rhythm for the study we are going to divide the bass tablature in 3 sections.
One section for every 2 bars of the Riff.
This I do, so that you become aware at all times of what you are playing with your bass.
It is a theme that is in the key of A minor, and this main riff moves between the chords of A minor and F major.
It is a bass riff that fits perfectly with the guitar riff you play at the same time. It seems… that if you hear each line separately there is no song.
For me, it’s a perfect symbiosis between bass and guitar. The guitar is in charge of accompanying with triad chords, with the ninth added, and the bass uses these intervals to accompany:
Interval of perfect foruth
Interval of major 6
This would be the harmony of the electric guitar:
Am add9
F add9
Californication Bass Tab 1
In these first 2 bars of the Riff you should pay special attention to the first bar, where this triplet group of semiquaver with quaver appears.
It’s really like an ornament, or a very fast embroidery.
The trick is to play only once the D of the 7th fret and to quickly link it with the MI, to come back to it again.
Everything is done with one finger, which is the one that will continue on the upper string with the sweeping technique
Californication Bass Tab 2
As you can see, the third bar is a repetition of the first bar, so if you have learned the first bar well, you will not have any difficulty completing the Riff.
Therefore, we can appreciate what a bass riff is with one question and two different answers.
This makes it very catchy, but also very original!
Californication Bass Tab Complete
Here are the four bars in a row. This is how you should play it when you are ready and don’t forget to repeat it.
You should take a slow tempo, 80 beats per minute will be ideal.
The punch is not strong as it is a half-ball, you should play mezzo-forte, which we also call half-strong.
I hope that with these broken down bass tablatures you have been able to complete the learning of this Riff, so essential for the bassist.
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